Apparatus for oil treating systems



Dec. w, 1935. ET. PUMMILL APPARATUS FOR OIL TREATING SYSTEMS Filed Aug. 25, 1932 .137 a; navy/213a o/n/r Gilt/J61 asaswuaz 0 0017 azzaaq INVENTOR L VEZT 7: nu/LL ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNlTED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR OIL TREATING SYSTEMS poration of New York Application August 25, 1932, Serial No. 630,391

3 Claims.

This invention has to do with methods of control for treating systems wherein one liquid is contacted with another. Specifically, it has to do with the control of the movement of reagent from one vessel to another in a continuous series of such vessels and with the proportioning of reagent originally fed to the system.

The invention is applicable to any system treating a liquid with another liquid of different specific gravity, and Where the use of specific liquid is mentioned in this specification it is not intended that the specification shall be limited by such recitation.

The present form of the invention is designed for use in the treatment of petroleum products,

broadly hereafter referred to as oil, with sulphuric acid, and the discussion will for convenience be confined to such system.

In the treatment of oil with acid there has been developed a system made up of several units, in each of which the oil to be treated is contacted with a mixture of acid and acid sludge in such a manner that the sludge-acid mixture is employed in a volume much in excess of the volume 5 of oil to be treated. From each of these units a settled oil is withdrawn to be passed to a further unit of the series and there contacted with a sludge-acid mixture or greater strength. From each of the units sludge-acid mixture is With- 30 drawn to be passed to the next in series, but countercurrent to the oil sequence; and to each unit stronger sludge-acid mixture is supplied from the unit prior in series.

Such a system is set forth in United States 35 Patent 1,652,399 to S. J. Dickey, in United States Patent 1,625,195 to S. J. Dickey, and in United States Patent 1,792,003 to S. J. Dickey.

Other systems less elaborate comprise merely a series of tanks or separating vessels through which the oil to be treated passes in one direction While the reagent passes through the series in the opposite direction being pumped by manually controlled pumps from one vessel to another. It will be noted that in both the older system and the system shown by Dickey in his several patents previously referred to, there are a plurality of points for manual control and this presents inherent difficulties in keeping the operation 50 in balance resulting in costly attention. Not only does lack of balance in such systems result in a loss of smooth working, but it frequently results in damage to the treated product.

It is an object of this invention to provide 55 means whereby the original proportioning and the transfer of reagent in such a system may be made fully automatic.

For the purposes of the present specification, the system of control presented by this invention is represented as operating upon a treating sys- 5 tem similar to that of Dickey in his several patents previously referred to. It is equally applicable without great modification to any other similar system or in fact to any system wherein one liquid is countercurrently treated with-an- 10 other. The drawing showing an oil treating system with the attached control method of this invention is attached to and made a part of this specification. In the drawing, vessels I, 2, and 3 are separating vessels. Oil to be treated enters 15 from outside the system under gravity head or. pump pressure and passes through fitting 5, an larged detail of which is shown. This fitting consists of a body 5 into which line 4 leads, ending in a jet. Entering the body 5 is a line 6 con- 20 nected to the body of the separating vessel I. Due to the jet action of the entering oil a quantity of the separated reagent or sludge-acid mixture in the bottom of separating vessel I is withdrawn and mixed with the oil and the mixture passes on through line I to enter separating vessel I about midway of its height. By a proper control or adjustment of the sizes of jets and orifices, it is possible to contact with the oil a relatively great volume of sludge-acid mixture. The oil and sludge-acid are allowed to separate by settling in the separator vessel I and the oil passes through line III to a similar treatment in separator vessel 2 and from thence by line II to a similar treatment in separator vessel 3. Fittings 5' and 5" are the same as fitting 5; line 6 and 6 exercise the same function as line 6; lines 8 and 9 exercise the same function as line I. Treated oil leaves the system (which may be composed of any suitable number of separator vessels though here shown as only three) through line I2 and passes to storage. A portion of it is withdrawn through line It for actuating the transfer of reagent as hereinafter explained and as set forth in Dickey in his several patents previously referred to. Fresh reagent enters the system from an outside source through line I4 and passes into fitting II. Treated oil from line I3 is placed under pressure by pump I5 and distributed through line I6. Entry of reagent into the system is actuated by a jet of this treated oil entering fitting I'i through valve I8 and there entraining reagent from line I4 which it discharges into line 9. Due to the constant addition of reagent to the separating vessel last in the series, the level of reagent or sludgetrated as regards sludge-acid toward the bottom 7 and more and more concentrated as regards oil toward the'top, but byequipping float chamber IS with connections, one of'which leadsto the region where there is the most concentrated sludge-acid and the other to the region where there is the cleanest oil I am enabled 'to establish an actual interface in the float cham'ber'which.v

occupies the same position as the effective interface in theseparating vessel. In this float chamher I provide a float, floating upon the interface and by this float I actuate valve l8, liquidlevel controls of this type are well known and many forms of linkage between the valve and float are used. They may for instancebe an actual linkage of levers, or the float may actuate a valve admitting compressed air to a diaphragm which operates the main valve,*or electrical connections and motors may be used. All these methodsare well developed, all are widely used, and any may be used herein. "Ihey form no portion of this invention, and for simplicity of drawing are designated merely by dottedlines connecting each float and the valve it operates. Similar liquid level float controls are provided for separator vessels I and 2 at I9 and I9" acting upon valves 18 and I8". A valved line 20 is provided for i withdrawing spent sludge-acid from separator vessel l, the amount of spent sludge-acid so withdrawn is adjusted in proportion to the amount of untreated oil entering through line 4. This adjustment may be made automatic by means of commercial instruments .for controlling ratios. When sludgeis withdrawn from separator vessel l, a decrease-in level actuates float control 19" which in turn opens valve [8", causing the transfer of sludge-acid from separator vessel 2 to separator vessel I:. In a similar manner separator vessel 2 will adjust its content of sludge-acid by withdrawing sludge-acid from separator vessel 3. Separator vessel 3 will in turn replenish its supply by drawing fresh acid from line H. In

this manner adjustment of the valve in line 20 regulates the proportion-of acid to oil throughout the entire system, doing away with the ineffective manual control heretofore found necessary. "It is also possible for this system to be operated in a slightly difierent manner. The amount of acid drawn from line l4 may be regulated in proportion to the amount of oil passed through line'4, in which case the liquid level controller on each separator vessel would operate to control the Withdrawal of the sludge-acid from the vessel to which :it is connected rather than the reverse as in the above explanation. It is apparent that the apparatus herein disclosed is capable of controlling automatically the proportionsand conditions of contact of one liquid with another in any system of countercurrent treatment wherein two non-miscible liquids of differing specific pertinent to that art, the equipment is capable of working with any system of non-miscible liquids of diiTerent specific gravities. Accordingly, I claim this apparatus in its broadest equivalents except as limited by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a system for treating a liquid with a liquid reagent largely non-miscible with the treating liquid and difiering in specific gravity there- ..from, comprising a series of separating vessels through which the liquid and reagent flow in countercurren-t, means for supplying raw liquid to one end of the series, means for supplying reagent to the other end of the series, means for transferring liquid from vessel to vessel, means on each vessel for withdrawing separated reagent from that vessel and introducing it into the liquid entering the vessel, means on each vessel for transferring separated reagent from that vessel to the next in its path of flow, a valve controlled means for withdrawing separated reagent from the last vessel in the path of reagent flow, means on each vessel operable upon change in the effective liquid interface, and means actuated by said interface operated means controlling the rate of transfer of reagent from vessel topvessel, said last named means in the case of the vessel first in the path of reagent flow acting to control the rate of introduction of reagent to the system.

2. In a system for progressively contacting a liquid with a liquid reagent largely non-miscible with the first liquid and differing in specific gravity therefrom, comprising a series of interconnected'separating vessels through which the liquid and reagent flow in countercurrent, a valved controlled outlet line for the passage of reagent from the last vessel in its path of flow, a conduit sion means so that the respective propulsion means will be rendered operative to compensate for a decrease in reagent level by an increase in reagent supply. a

3. In a system for the contacting of a liquid with a liquid reagent, the two being largely nonmiscible and differing in specific gravity, a means for mixing the liquid and the reagent, a separating vessel in communication with said mixing means, wherein the mixed liquid and reagent are separated, 'means to withdraw separated liquid from the separator, means to withdraw separated reagent from the separator, a control valve in said reagent withdrawal means, and a means for controlling the proportion of liquid present in the separating vessel including a separate adjacent chamber communicating at one end with a region in the separating vessel where the liquid predominates and at the other end with a region in the separating vessel where the reagent predominates, a float in such chamber, and means actuated by said float to control the proportions of liquid and reagent admitted to the mixing means in response to the conditions in said chamber.

EVERT T. PUMMILL. 

